The present invention is directed to a switch for opening and closing an optical connection between two fiber-optical waveguides which are essentially aligned with one another when in the closed position.
A switch for fiber-optical waveguides has been disclosed by German OS 2,903,867. In this publication, a stationary fiber-optical waveguide end is mounted on a carrier part, which is secured in a switch body. A movable fiber-optical waveguide is secured to a shiftable switch tongue, which is also mounted in the body and has a free end adjacent the end of the stationary fiber-optical waveguide that is movable thereto. In a closed switch condition, the two fiber-optical waveguides are opposite one another in a precise alignment and the tongue can be switched by an application of a magnetic field to a position with the two fibers out of alignment to open the connection therebetween. In order to produce such a switch, rather involved methods are required for obtaining the lateral guidance of the fiber-optical waveguides as well as for matching the position of the waveguides during the movement between positions.